about the price tag. >> this costs $2.5 million. it is handset would amethyst, rubies, and sapphires along with white, pink, and yellow diamonds. also a 20-carat white diamond that fits inside the blossom and it has more than 5200 precious stones. >> who doesn't need that? 6:00 right now on this wednesday morning and another hour of news is coming. "live, and in hd, you are watching "good morning washington," on your side. >> it's now two down, one to go -- highlights from the contentious etween president obama and mitt romney. >> federal officials are investigating the company tied to the meningitis outbreak. it has now claimed another life in virginia.

>> we have all had a case of the monday's. find out if monday really is the worst day of the week. >> good morning to you washington. >> get right to jacqui jeras. >> wednesday is not the worst day of the done and the weather could not be better. it is chilly, temperatures are in the 30's across northern and western maryland and into northern virginia. we have 39 at gaithersburg and 49 in the district. everybody will need a jacket or something to get started. i might recommend long sleeves and jeans 51 degrees at 9:00 and 69 degrees by 5:00. rain is in the forecast in will

tell you more about that in a minute. >>ryone. starting with 66, in centreville, you will see somebody and delays. lanes are open but we are moving a little slow at the centreville interchange. 95 as volume. -- 95 has volume coming up from fredericksburg. in maryland, we have a few troublespots including the crash westbound 50 blocking a lay and add 201 and a crash reported on branch avenue. >> one day after a very lively debate. >> in news survey found that 46% of watchers said the president won the debate. we go to the white house to

recap of the debate. >> good morning, it was a different debate than the first one, not only the format but the fiery exchanges between the two candidates. >>it was back to battleground states today after a heated back-and-forth debate for president barack and mitt romney. >> have you looked in your pension? >> i doll look at my attention because it is not as big as yours. >> they spoke and economic issues including education fair pay and gas prices. the two were quick to go after one another. >> governor, said detroit to go bankrupt. >> the president took detroit bankrupt. when you say i wanted to make them bankrupt, you'd actually did it. >> there were heated about libya and who was responsible.

>> i want to make sure we get that for the record because it took the president 14 days before he called the attack and benghazi a terrorist attack. >> he did so let me call it an act of terror. he did call it an act of terror. >> with three weeks until the election, the debate moderator said they both knew the clock was closing in on them. >> i did not get the i hate each other vibe from them. >> no time to waste, both are back out on the campaign trail today focusing again on the battleground states. three weeks until voters had to the polls and this is the second of three meetings that the candidate's face.

a third debate will be monday night with the focus on foreign policy. >> politico followed everywhere of last night's debate and coming up at 6:45, we will talk with mike allen. >> there is no rest for president obama and mitt romney as they hit the campaign trail. they have stopped in key swing states. the president will hold rallies and iowa and ohio today. mitt romney will spend the day in virginia, in chesapeake and then attend a rally in leesburg later today. >> a motion is scheduled today against private first class bradley man who is accused of leaking documents to wikileaks. his trial is scheduled for february. >> we are following the latest details in the fund all meningitis outbreak.

the second person has now died in virginia. >> federal investigators have rated the center believed to be behind this deadly outbreak. the newest infection is from drugs used in heart and i surgery. the cdc says more patients could be at risk. criminal investigators from the department justice and the food and drug administration searched the pharmacy distributor in massachusetts. they believe the steroid medication has been linked to a lethal outbreak. many families now mourn. >> the grief and is believed that something like this could happen is still there. >> the number of illnesses associated with the command -- contaminated shouts distributed by a new england company have climbed to over 230 patients. at least 50 people have died in 50 states including two in virginia. nearly all the victims had receive steroid injections for back pain. >> she was probably infected with the first injections and

from that day, the course had been set. >> the head of the massachusetts pharmacy board said all tainted products -- products have been recalled. >> i want to express our deepest sympathy. >> after 14,000 people and -- in 23 states could have been exposed three lots of the start of the recall and surrendered its license. >> an earthquake struck in maine on tuesday night. some buildings were damaged by the 4.0 earthquake but no reports of any injuries. the tremors were felt as far away as conn. this is not common in new england. >> still ahead, why a 7-year-old boy in new york city squeaks when he speaks. >> coming up, take away his toys

and he'll play with a stick. take away their bikes and they'll still find a way to get where they're going. but if take you away early childhood education...

slash k-12 funding... and cut college aid for middle class families ... they won't go far. yet that's exactly what mitt romney wants to do... ...to pay for a $250,000 tax break for multi-millionaires. if mitt romney wins, the middle class loses. prpriorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising. [ mitt romney ] look at the evidence of the last four years. under the president's policies middle income americans have been buried. they're just being crushed. middle-income americans have seen their income

me down by $4,300. this is a tax in and of itself. i'll call it the economy tax. i'm not going to raise taxes on anyone. my plan is to bring down rates to get more people working. my priority is putting people back to work in america. i'm mitt romney and i appre this message. >> we have dancing with the scars. >> there were some seriously scary moments when a boat capsized in america's cup race. rough seas and strong winds topped that 72-foot catamaran during a training exercise in san francisco bay. everybody recovered and nobody was seriously hurt.

we can't say this about the boat. >> it is all in pieces. let's check in with jacqui jeras. >> a chilly start today but we will be warming up by this afternoon. we will start out the day needing long sleeves and a jacket but this afternoon, you might want to shed them. 49 in the district and weight are warmer toward the bay. 36 degrees in winchester and 38 degrees in winchester. -- a little bit of clout in this has pushed into our area from the south. this is what will be changing things for us as we head into tomorrow. that will bring us a chance of rain. if you are traveling things should be great across the mid atlantic but there may be some arrival delays if you are heading to miami or orlando. the forecast for today -- partly

cloudy and nice, a 65-71 degrees. let's get some feedback. you can reach me on twitter and facebook. >> good morning everyone. we have a couple of accidents in maryland. they are clear but we are seeing delays southbound on the b w parkway. we had an earlier vehicle fire. howard county police say southbound suitland river parkway is blocked at 108. on 270, no accidents, just a volume delays. in virginia, volume delays of 66 coming from manassas and 95 northbound going to 395 heading into the springfield interchange.

>> thank you. 6:12 is the time and 46 degrees. the redskins prepare for their first division showdown. >> coming up, having a case of as governor, i cut five billion dollars in spending and balanced the budget every year. and tim kaine and i both cutut our own pay as governors to lead by example. mark warner and i reached across party lines to get things done. we were a great team

in richmond and we'll be a great team in washington. i'm tim kaine and i approve this message ...because we'll work together to restore fiscal responsibility grow our economy and create jobs. [ male announcer ] tim kaine. bringing people together to tackle the challenges of tomorrow.

>> you are watching abc 7 scott," good morning washington." on your side. >> war crime allegations are being leveled against the rebels to overthrow market deficit. a human rights watch report on the last hours of his life. it appears rebels executed dozens of fighters who were loyal to him. they overran his home town last october. it appears the rebels took revenge for a brutal siege by

moammar khaddafi's forces. the man charged with killing an unearned team is scheduled to make his first appearance before a new judge. prosecutors are dragging their feet and poring over evidence. they're asking for monthly hearings on the issue. he was charged with second degree murder against trade on marchant. >> -- trayvon amartin/ >> jessica ridgway was abducted and killed on the way to school. police are asking for more tips. the parents were not involved in her disappearance or death. >> checking news around the region -- two virginia hikers trapped for days in a montana national park for back from this morning. they arrived last night.

they were found monday afternoon and a remote park -- part of glacier national park. they use their outdoor skills to survive out there. there's a big scare out of a bethesda day care center. on monday afternoon, wendy rhein went to pick up her young boy but he was not there. he was among four kids who got out of a play area and wandered across the street. a neighbor ended up finding them about a block away. there is an investigation being conducted. the people involved have been terminated. a 7-year-old from the york thought he was playing a trick. >> squeek. >> he squeaks because he swallowed a squeaky whistled nearly one month ago.

the family figured out what happened then tucked into the hospital and doctors removed it. it lodged in his long and that's why he was making a squeaky sound when he tried to talk. it was probably funny if you are 7-years old. >> that's right. >> there is a new survey out as to why having a case of the monday's may not be the worst thing. >> jummy olabanji is out alive desk. >> i am laughing because of the squeaky toy story. this story is funded to. -- is funny, too. which day is the happiest? according to a survey, they surveyed about 340,000 people and found out that people are unhappy every day of the week except for friday and saturday.

they also found out that the majority of bad news peaks at 11:45 in the morning on tuesday. think back to yesterday before the noon show, you might have been in a bad mood. you're not alone. researchers and from other university found the most negative words are tweeted out on wednesday. they say that thursday's is the day most likely to reign and that dampened people's spirits. harvard researchers say the best thing to do is to find a good part of every single day. for today, you can look get ahead and say we only have two more days until the weekend. >> fridays and saturdays the

best days of the week. >> thursdays, more rain? i want to see research on that one. we do have rain and the forecast on thursday. maybe there is some truth to that. today will be a beautiful day over all but it is very chilly. all we we have been asking where is adam caskey. there he is. >> i am in forestville this morning. the traffic is starting to pick up. not much in terms of wins this morning. my anemometer is not moving. luckily, it is calm because it

is cool outside. 46 degrees in forestville. the humidity is up to 100%. let's take a look at other area temperatures. there's nothing to worry about this afternoon. a bit of a chill in the air this morning. leesburg, 37 and chantilly 39. la plata dropped down to 39. you will notice we have a little bit of cloud cover out to the west that will be pushing in today. it should make for a nice sunrise. bright sunshine and the next chance of rain is not until late in the day tomorrow. by late thursday, there could be areas of rain and high temperature today will be 68 degrees and i think we will be back to 70 degrees thursday into friday. >> we've got more people on the

roadways right now starting in virginia on i-95, a lot of building volume. no access to report just volume. it is slow as you head into the triangle area and continue to springfield. volume delays of 66 all lanes are open. in maryland, with volume on 270. we had an earlier accident and was down 50 at kenilworth and southbound b w parkway at 410. >> a version of the chevy volt is on its way and we will talk about halloween masks for the season. >> good morning something of a coup on wall street. that compounded says his resignation was his choice. some say he was pushed out.

the postal service will have to live within its means. it has hit a $15 billion borrowing limit. it will have to rely on sales. target stores will match prices this holiday season with other stores and online competitors. it is the latest move by a retailer to combat online purchases. cadillac is going to start putting out an electrical luxury-car next year. it will run on battery power and switch to a gasoline engine when it runs out of juice.

as governor, i cut five billion dollars in spending and balanced the e budget every year. and tim kaine and i both cut our own pay as governors, to lead by exexample. mark warner and reached across party lines to get things done. we were a great team in richmond and we'll be a great team in washington. i'm tim kaine and i apprprove this message ...because we'll work together to restore fiscal responsibility, grow our economy and create jobs. [ male announc ] tim kaine. bringing people together to tackle the challenges of tomorrow.

>> the detroit tigers have the new york yankees on the brink of elimination. there was a solo home run. the tigers had a 3-0 series lead. things are more competitive in the national league. the giants against the partners

-- and the cardinals will be this afternoon. >> there is a second day of meetings in the nhl lockout. they have the goal of playing a full season and the players are considering one offer. the redskins' return to practice, getting ready for sunday's showdown with division rivals. >> they are the seven-point underdog to the green bay packers -- to the giants. they beat the giants twice last year without r g three. 6:27 still another half-hour of "good morning washington." >> why m

"live, and in hd, you are watching "good morning washington," on your side. >> mr. president, have you looked in your pension? >> i don't look at my pension because it is not as big as yours. >> straight ahead, president obama comes out swinging in the second debate with mr. romney. was it enough to even out the score? >> our good act -- are good

friend anderson cooper had a cynne simpson with him. it is wednesday, october 17. >> i am still md-80 from yesterday. let's check in with jacqui jeras. >> i am giddy for you and the about the weather. it is not bad and the district but everybody else, our temperatures are down in the 30's. our winds are calm, at 37 degrees in gaithersburg and 39 in manassas. we are warming up pretty quickly, 51 degrees by 9:00, 62 degrees by noon, 69 degrees our high or near 70 degrees. we have read in the forecast and we will have more in a minute >> good morning, everyone.

we don't have too many issues in virginia this morning. there are mainly volume delays. this is a look at 66 with mostly volume coming in from manassas all lanes are open. the heaviest delay is coming through of vienna. as far as the belt way, we are clear between annandale and dollars on the virginia side and montgomery county and prince george's county are moving well in maryland. volume delays from i-95 interchange over to colesville road and lee elder loop. >> president obama and mitt romney are turning their focus back to the voters and swing states. >> met run it will stop in leesburg tonight and president obama will visit iowa and ohio. >> there were fireworks last

night in the debate. it is different from the first debate we had. there was fiery debate back and forth in this town hall setting. the candidates were not behind the podiums and able to walk around answering questions from voters. there was a lot of domestic issues talking about taxes and gas prices and the economy and immigration. they talked about education as well. the polls said mitt romney coming into this debate was riding a wave after the first debate. president obama gave a more energetic performance. >> what you see in this country is 23 million people struggling to find a job. the president's policies have been exercised last four years and they have not put americans back to work. >> when he said behind closed doors that 47% of the country considers themselves victims --

who refuse personal responsibility -- think about who he was talking about. >> they're going back to the battleground states on the campaign trail today. they will be back face to face monday night for the last debate and that will be on foreign policy. >> thanks so much. today at 4:00 fox news has bill o'reilly sitting down with katie couric. he will talk about his new book about the assassination of john f. kennedy. he is sharing his thoughts on what really happened. that is today at 4:00 right here on abc 7. larry king is moderating a debate featuring several third- party candidates. that will be in chicago on

tuesday. >> we follow the latest on meningitis outbreak that is -- has impacted more than a dozen states. a seventh person has now died in virginia. >> two members of congress have now asked the u.s. department justice to investigate whether a massachusetts farming -- pharmacy violated any federal laws or regulations. the number of cases now at more than 230. at least 15 people have died in 15 states, two of them in virginia. federal investigators have paraded of the company. it is believed steroid medication has been linked to this lethal outbreak early nearly all the victims have received steroid injections for back pain. the newest infections are from drugs used in heart and i surgery.

the cdc says more patients could be at risk. up to 14,000 people in at least 23 states could have been exposed. three lots of this thread has been recalled. the company has not responded directly to legislators but is cooperating with federal investigators. >> thanks so much. an ethics panel is looking into a council member jim grandpa's to conduct in connection with a metro land deal. they found that jim graham try to influence plans on a vacant lot in northwest. they found no evidence that he broke any laws and the council man is denying any wrongdoing. >> metro says it will not have phone service throughout the entire rail system until december of 2015. that work was supposed to be completed by today.

a federal act allocate $1.5 billion to metro. congress has given them a reprieve until september of 2013. metro says 44 of 47 underground stations have service but the connecting lines are not finished. >> it's 6:37 and 47 degrees and more to come. mike allen will join us to tell us if present obama won the second debate. >> anderson cooper surprise to cynne simpson scott pelley: "you

made on your investments, personally, about $2million last year, and you paid 14% in federal taxes, that's the capital gains rate. is that t fair to the guy who makes $50,000 and paid a higher rate than you did? so you think it is fair?" romney: "yeah, i think it's the right way to encourage economic growth." lower tax rates for him...than us. is that the way to grow america? i'm barack obama, and i approve this message.

with over 200 varieties, keurig makes brewing a delicious cup of coffee simple. how does it brew such great coffee? well... inside the brewer are these green fields of coffee and if you travel up this mountain, there's this huge coffee grinder. and then the coffee lands in this cup and water rushes through. actually, i just press this button. brew what you love, simply. keurig. [ mitt romney ] look at the evidence of the last four years. we've got 23 million people out of work or stopped looking for work. they're suffering in this country. the prenesident would prefer raising taxes. the problem with raising taxes is that it slows down the rate of growth. i'm not going to raise taxes on anyone bebecause when the economy's growing slow like this, when we're in recession you shouldn't raise taxes on anyone. my plan i is toto bring down rates to get more people working. my priority is putting people back to work in america. i'm mitt romney and i approve this message.

>> i would like to ask you if you would coast with me one day. >> was anderson asking her to co-host her show? during aaron noon show, he popped the question and you said no? >> we're not getting married. november 7, we set a date. i will go to new york to tape the show. everyone will have to tune in. >> that is the day after the election. >> that is something we know

something about. >> we thank anderson for being here. you can watch him every day right here at 3:00 p.m. every day. jimmy campbell says he has booked his lifelong idol for a special at the end of the month david letterman. jimmy kimmel said they grew up wearing a david letterman jacket. david letterman declined to be his first guest. >> says the clause 41 so let's check in with jacqui jeras. >> a pretty nice start this morning. it is on the chilly side and we have a few high clouds that will make for a pretty start to the day. temperatures are in the 30's for the most part.

closer to the bay, we have higher temperatures. 37 and gaithersburg. partly cloudy today 65-71, and a seven-day forecast says rain late on thursday and continues into friday morning. it should be out of here in time for the weekend. >> good morning, traffic is tying up in virginia with an ax and reported 95 at the dale city adding to your volume delays. that increase is more as you get closer to springfield. we are tied up a little bit on 395 from the springfield interchange northbound toward the pentagon. in maryland, we are trying to recover on route 50 west bound between the beltway and cal worth at avenue from an earlier crash. -- bellay and kenilworth avenue

from an earlier crash. >> the time the 6:42 and heated exchanges marked the second presidential debate. >> we will talk with mike allen about ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer

] combine the pnc cashbuilder visa credit card with a quifying pnc performance select checking account and earn 75% more than cards earning 1% cash back n almost everything. >> it was a late night for our partners at a politico, keeping a close eye on the feisty presidential debates. >> mike allen is here to talk about the debate. >> the pressure was on for the performance and the president came out so feisty that in the first exchange where we saw them pointing at each other, circling each other somebody said they

thought the city service would intervene. we saw governor romney's preparation let him down. the point about libya which was the biggest moment from the debate was arguable but he did not have the facts are right. the president slapped him down and people will remember that. poor med ron they will never live down the phrase talking about africans for cabinet positions. -- port mitt romney will never live down the phrase stuck in that africans for cabinet positions. there is a website up about met ron it than others when states are even more important now. >> battleground virginia, ohio -- both campaigns tellus -- both

campaigns tell us that they will focus on those states and the next couple of weeks. obama got more out of this debate and mitt romney did. -- ben mitt romney did. mitt romney knows he missed some opportunities but did not do so badly. we have a jump ball with a lot of the candidates' comments aimed at the swing states. >> what do the candidates have to do in round three? >> president obama tried to de- legitimize the attacks on his foreign policy and it was rooted out mitt romney criticized his handling of libya. the libya moment will live on in this debate. >> thank you so much.

the time is 6:47. >> let's check in with jacqui jeras once again. >> it is looking to be a good afternoon but this morning, we are a little bit on the chilly side. everyone has been acting this week where is adam caskey and we have him in the field in our abc 7 storm chasers vehicle. what's going on out there? >> i should have a special spooky treat coming up tomorrow morning. we are in forestville. we see a little bit of brightness in the sky. the sun is beginning to pop up but the sun rises not until 7:20 a.m.. let's look at the current conditions. we dropped a few degrees.

it is 45 degrees right here. area wide temperatures are dropping down into the 30's in a few locations. it is a cool start to the morning but it will be a comfortable afternoon. we have some 30's here and there. 47 degrees in germantown and woodbridge and arlington are 42. there is that system to our northwest which is a windy but the wind will decrease a little bit through friday and that is our next chance of rain, thursday into friday. enjoy the temperatures today. >> good morning, it is getting busy out there. a new accident reported on the beltway on the outer loop coming from montgomery county between

careterock and the american legion bridge. that will add to the heavy volume we already see in that area. there's an accident 95 northbound in virginia, dale city, moved to the shoulder which involved a tractor- trailer. we are seeing delays from the springfield interchange northbound on i-395 making your way toward the pentagon. >> thanks so much at 6:50. >> up next, we will have a roundup of today's top stories. we will have a quick look at the forecast now.

>> it is 6:53 and time for the wednesday express' theme. >> the second debate last night was different than the first. president barack obama and mitt romney in a town hall-style said were taking questions from voters mostly on domestic issues including education, gas prices the economy taxes, and there was back-and-forth exchanges. now time to waste today with three weeks until the election. both candidates are back out in the campaign trail, focusing on the battleground states. >> the number of meningitis cases this morning is now at more than 230. at least 15 people are dead in 15 states if and two of them reported in virginia.

federal investigators have raided the company in massachusetts where is believe that steroids have been linked to this lethal outbreak. >>ddot is reporting that military road nw between 32 and 42 street is blocked in both directions. it will remain that way probably until 7:15 or 7:30. traffic is being diverted toward jenifer street nw and they say to avoid this area of possible. >> here's what you need to know before you head out this morning -- >> ng eastbtrafficstopped between 9:00-10:00 a.m.. there will be working on the pedestrian bridge. >> it will only be stopped for two men answered which does not seem like a long time but in that area it will be a long time. >> defense could present its

case today in the trial of two prince george's county police officers both charged in connection with the 2010 beating of an armed university of maryland student. for more information, you can visit our website, wjla.com look for the wednesday express' tabla. >> it is 6:55 so let's find out what is happening on the roads. >> we've got a lane block on the beltway as you approach the american legion bridge. this is on the outer loop with delays that start at carderock. we are tied up 95 northbound in virginia with a crash at the dale city on the shoulder involving a tractor-trailer. >> a beautiful day today. it will be sunny throughout most of the day with temperatures warming up after a chilly start. it will be 69 degrees by 5:00. a chance of rain is back in the

forecast thursday into friday. adam caskey has been out with storm chasers seven all week long. this morning he is in prince george's county in forestville. there he is. he will be somewhere spooky tomorrow. >> thanks for being with us this morning. state-owned for a very special "good morning america -- stay tuned for a very special good" morning america." maryland schools are number one in america because we invest in them. but we can do even more. every year marylanders spend five hundred and fifty mtylion dollars at casinos in other states. question 7 keeps that maryland money in maryland through expansion of gaming in maryland.

it will mean hundreds of millions of dollars for our schools. as governor, i can promise you that money will go to education. that's the law and that's what we'll do. vote for question seven.